Sixth Man Held in Denny Attack : Riots: Motorcyclist is accused of firing a shotgun at the trucker’s gas tank as he lay bleeding next to his rig. Suspect was identified from videotapes of incident.

A South Los Angeles man was arrested early Friday in connection with the April 29 attack on truck driver Reginald O. Denny, becoming the sixth person held in the assault.

Investigators say Lance Jerome Parker, 26, is the man seen on videotapes of the incident approaching Denny’s truck, checking the gas tank, then pulling a shotgun from an athletic bag and firing it at the 18-wheeler. A badly beaten Denny was lying just a few feet away.

On the videotape, the gun-wielding suspect calmly walks to his motorcycle and rides away.

If the gas tank of the truck had exploded, investigators say, Denny and dozens of other people at Florence and Normandie avenues could have been injured.

Court documents indicate that such a catastrophe came perilously close to happening:

“Photos of the gas tank clearly show numerous dents consistent with shotgun pellets,” according to a statement filed in court by Detective Art Daedelow of the Los Angeles Police Department. Apparently the tank’s metal skin protected it and prevented an explosion, investigators said.

LAPD officers arrested Parker at his Sutro Avenue home shortly after 7 a.m. Friday. He surrendered without incident, according to Lt. Doug Young of the 77th Street Division.

With public attention focused on the Denny beating, police aggressively pursued the man who fired the shotgun. Investigators said Parker was identified from the videotapes, although other suspects have been questioned about the events at Florence and Normandie and their accounts may have aided police.

A local judge approved a warrant for Parker’s arrest and the search of two homes, officials said. That warrant was not released Friday.

After he was arrested, Parker was taken to the Police Department’s 77th Street Division, where he was booked and held for questioning. The home of Parker’s parents also was searched by teams of police officers and FBI agents, officials said.

“He is being held for assault with a deadly weapon,” Young said.

Investigators are still searching for other suspects in the Denny beating and the other attacks at Florence and Normandie, but one official said Parker was the last of the major suspects in the Denny case who was still at large.

Young would not say whether police recovered the shotgun or any other evidence during searches of the two residences. Parker is expected to be arraigned Monday in Municipal Court, where he will be formally charged and bail will be set.

Young also declined to comment about whether Parker was cooperating with the police investigation. Each of the other five suspects has spoken to police after his arrest, according to court documents, which also indicate that some waived their right to meet with an attorney before questioning.

Some of those statements are expected to be introduced during pretrial hearings for the suspects.

In addition to Parker, five other suspects are being held in the beating and robbery of Denny. Damian Monroe (Football) Williams, Antoine Eugene Miller and Henry Keith (Kiki) Watson are considered the principal suspects, and each of them is charged with attempted murder, torture, aggravated mayhem and robbery.

Those three men are said by prosecutors to be members or associates of the Eight-Tray Gangster Crips, a South Los Angeles street gang. It was not known whether Parker is associated with that gang.

Gary Anthony Williams is charged with attempted robbery in the attack on Denny, and Anthony Lamar Brown is charged with misdemeanor battery for spitting in Denny’s face after the truck driver was beaten. Brown also is accused of beating several other people at Florence and Normandie.

Damian Williams, who prosecutors say hit Denny with a rock and danced gleefully for the hovering helicopter news cameras, has filed a $10-million lawsuit against local officials and unnamed members of the media. One of Williams’ lawyers, Dennis Palmieri, accused officials of leaking documents and excerpts of a tape-recorded interview to The Times.

Palmieri said Friday that he will press ahead with the federal lawsuit, which was assigned to Judge Ronald S.W. Lew, and he repeated his charge that the alleged leaks have been orchestrated to deny Williams a fair trial.